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MotionX Drive

J

jcorbin

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 18, 2011
1,135
259
D.C.
anyone use motion x drive for gps?
how do you like it? is it worth it?

i have waze but its kinda basic. i know its free but so was my nav on android. if you use a third party gps app do you still use the native maps app anymore?
 
I use it and have for a while now. Best I've used. I no longer use the built in system in my Ford or Honda. You'll hear talk of how some apps like Tom Tom keep the maps on your phone thus if you lose cell signal.....well, how often does that happen really......Besides, you can simply go into the options menu on Motion X and have your map(s) data downloaded prior to beginning so it will function just the same as the other guys, only your phone won't be bloated with map data that needs updated regularly. I do that occasionally when I'm in very remote areas but again, rarely lose signal for long. Lastly, even if you do and you forget to pre-fetch the maps, just flip over to the list view. It contains all your routing information from start to finish.

Well worth the $10-$20 per year....as I believe they are still offering the $10/yr turn by turn voice navigation.

Can't speak more highly of the product. I've only used it once but their support is great too.
 
You can also give MapQuest a try, which is free. Voice guidance is good and has excellent routing. The UI is pretty basic though.

Other than that I would go for Navigon if your looking for something that also has a great UI. Plus it stores maps.
 
do you use all the features it has? like searching for restaurants and coffee places? or just navigation?
 
LIVEFRMNYC said:
You can also give MapQuest a try, which is free. Voice guidance is good and has excellent routing. The UI is pretty basic though.

Other than that I would go for Navigon if your looking for something that also has a great UI. Plus it stores maps.
Click to expand...

Interesting...will give this a try.
 
I used it for several months & liked it, but on long trips data dropouts make it difficult to search POI's or reroute. For around town I'd recommend it for sure.

I switched to Garmin USA to get all the maps on-board & am happy with that.
 
jcorbin said:
do you use all the features it has? like searching for restaurants and coffee places? or just navigation?
Click to expand...

I use those features all the time. Works great. I love Siri, but until I say to Siri "I'm in the mood for Coffee" and have her then route me there using Motion X, I'll stick to using Motion X for such things as I can just simply have it search along route and add it as a stop. Viola! Easy and works great.
 
I use MotionX Drive all the time....but I live in the greater LA area, so there's almost always cell service. Traffic routing has generally been very good, and it's even taught me a couple of sneaky ways to get back home when the traffic on the freeways is bad.

As others have mentioned, there is the ability to pre-cache map tiles at the start of a route, but what concerns me is what happens if you need to re-route and you have no cell service? If/when I ever take an extensive drive into an area where cell service is not guaranteed then I'll probably pony up for the Navigon or Garmin. Until then, MXD does me well enough.
 
thanks for all the comments and suggestions. between navigon and motionx i think i prefer motionx. however motion seems to be a bit clunky and cluttered in the UI department.

i also looked at waze for free navigation. it works pretty well. has anyone used waze for their map/navigation solution?

i'm trying to not have to use the maps app and a nav app. i hate having to switch back and forth.
 
download

One can always download the maps/pois prior to going out of cell coverage, either for cities, areas on the map, a route you are travelling or even say an entire state or states. Means you don't hit (or need) the data except for say traffic updates.
 
I've used MotionX a lot. It's a good, reliable app. I've recently switched to Navigon, and so far I'm finding it to be superior in just about every way. Faster, much better interface (if I have one real complaint about MotionX it's the interface), much better looking maps, lane guidance, speed limits, and on and on.

Navigon is still new to me, so maybe I'm still in the honeymoon stage, but I'd recommend it over MotionX. That being said, I'm not dissing MotionX. It's a fine app.
 
I tried Navigon for a couple of weeks, but I had some incidents where it attempted to give me some really wonky directions. One time I tried to send me in what I knew was the opposite direction of where I needed to do. In other words, I didn't know the exact location but I knew it was to the east of me, and Navigon wanted to send me west. Another time it tried to route me through a winding residential community with a 25 mph speed limit instead of using a more major road with a 45 mph speed limit, and *no* ... avoidances were not on. I went back to Motion X.

The UI on Motion X may be a little crowded, but I think it is well laid out and easy to get used to. I generally hook it to the car stereo so I can listen to iTunes until it cuts in with directions. It also works well pairing the the iPhone to the bluetooth comms device on my motorcycle helmet. Something only the crazy expensive Zumo's from Garmin will do.

Overall, of the bunch of Nav programs I have tried on my iPhone, Motion X has been my favorite.
 
I use Motion X exclusively now, all of the features. As one other person who posted said, I find the traffic management issues great and I don't have any problem with the UI.

I live in Southern California, so mostly have cell service wherever I go, but when I've traveled where there is no cell, Motion X does a good job of updating my position after letting me know that I don't have cell coverage.

I'm very satisfied with the product and the Live Voice package is well worth the added cost. (on sale now for something like $9/year)
 
tygrubb said:
it's even taught me a couple of sneaky ways to get back home when the traffic on the freeways is bad.
Click to expand...

That's the great thing about MotionX too. It routes you based on traffic from moment one. I no longer second guess it anymore as I've had my fair share of times thinking I knew better only to end up being stuck.

As others have mentioned, there is the ability to pre-cache map tiles at the start of a route, but what concerns me is what happens if you need to re-route and you have no cell service?
Click to expand...

It prefeches quite a bit of data / maps. I wouldn't worry unless you choose to go 10 miles the opposite way.


jcorbin said:
however motion seems to be a bit clunky and cluttered in the UI department.
Click to expand...

Really? I think Motion is very well laid out and organized.
 
I love Motion X, like others we have it on our iPhones and iPads. We frequently go to areas where there is no cell coverage and we just download our maps/routes in advance on our home WiFi. Interestingly, the Navigon reviews on iTunes have gone severely negative since the last upgrade (Garmin owned now). The Motion X reviews remain strongly positive.
 
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